HYDERABAD: A day after he met the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said here Sunday that ‘‘both had agreed to cooperate with each other.” His comments came in the wake of the first hand shake between AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday evening.
Speaking to reporters, Venkaiah Naidu said he had advised chief ministers of both the States to work for development. While stating that his government was committed to implement the AP Reorganisation Act-2014 in letter and spirit, he said he had suggested to Chandrababu Naidu and KCR to concentrate on development of their respective states rather than adopting a confrontational attitude.
“I had spoken to both KCR and Naidu and got good response from both the chief ministers. They both agreed to cooperate with each other,” Venkaiah Naidu revealed. He said he had told Chandrababu Naidu to send his officials to Delhi to discuss the various Central schemes and other issues pertaining to AP. Similarly, he also offered full cooperation to KCR in granting central funds for the state. He also advised both the states to opt for discussions if faced with any problem.
Indirectly cautioning KCR not to go against the AP Reorganisation Act, the Union Minister said the Centre would implement all the commitments made in the Act and urged both the states to cooperate with it. Refusing to comment on populist schemes being implemented by AP and Telangana governments, Venkaiah Naidu said State governments should know their priorities.
In the same breath, he suggested that States had better strengthen their local bodies. “Local bodies should be made more transparent. There is a need to change their functioning,” he added.